woensdag 17 juni 2009

Islam in China

“Seek knowledge even as far as China.” – Saying of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Islam was first brought to China by an envoy sent by Uthman, the third Caliph in 651, less than twenty years after the death of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) . The envoy was led by Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. Emperor Gazong, the Tang emperor who received the envoy then ordered the construction of the Memorial mosque in Canton, the first mosque in the country. It was during the Tang Dynasty that China had its golden day of cosmopolitan culture which helped the introduction of Islam. The first major Muslim settlements in China consisted of Arab and Persian merchants. (wiki)